Swiss Stocks Rise to Highest Since May 2008

Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Swiss stocks advanced to the highest
level since May 2008 as shares of construction-related companies
rose after better-than-estimated earnings from Lafarge SA.

Schindler Holding AG, the elevator maker, and Geberit AG,
the manufacturer of toilets and piping systems, followed a gauge
of European building-industry shares higher. Sulzer AG climbed
for a 12th day, posting the longest winning streak since at
least October 1989.

The Swiss Market Index gained 0.6 percent to 7,626.01 at
the close in Zurich. The measure has jumped 12 percent so far
this year as the Swiss franc depreciated against the euro. The
broader Swiss Performance Index added 0.5 percent today.

“Market sentiment is certainly positive,” said Michele
Rimann, a trader at Luzerner Kantonalbank AG in Lucerne,
Switzerland. “Construction and industrial shares are pushing
the SMI higher as part of a positive read-across from Lafarge’s
results.”

The volume of shares changing hands in SMI-listed companies
was 18 percent lower than the average of the last 30 days,
according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

In the U.S. housing starts dropped more than projected last
month, a Commerce Department report showed. They fell at an
annual pace of 8.5 percent in January, after a revised 15.7
percent gain the previous month. That compares with the median
forecast in a Bloomberg survey for a 3.6 percent decrease.

The Federal Reserve will release the minutes of its Jan.
29-30 policy meeting at 2 p.m. in Washington.

Construction Shares

Schindler gained 0.3 percent to 139.10 Swiss francs and
Geberit increased 0.8 percent to 225.70 francs. A gauge of
European construction companies posted the best performance of
the 19 industry groups in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index after the
earnings report from Lafarge, the world’s biggest cement maker.

Sulzer, the pump maker, advanced 0.9 percent to 164.60
francs, its highest price since December 2007.

Aryzta AG slipped 2.1 percent to 52.80 francs, the most in
almost five months. The owner of bakery brands including Delice
de France and Otis Spunkmeyer said it acquired Klemme AG for 280
million euros ($376 million) to expand in Germany. The deal
includes a 10 million-euro deferred payment.

“We would’ve preferred it if some quiet finally had
returned to the takeover front at Aryzta and that Aryzta would
focus on the lower-risk organic growth, which is why we assess
this new takeover slightly negative,” Patrik Schwendimann, an
analyst at Zuercher Kantonalbank AG in Zurich, wrote in a note
to clients today.